


The douchebag

by novastars



Category: Phandom, Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Library, Cute, Fluff, I'm sorry if it has omg, Library AU, Light Angst, M/M, Oneshot, Phan - Freeform, fluff fluff fluff, i hope this hasn't been done
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-30
Updated: 2014-11-30
Packaged: 2018-02-27 13:23:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2694641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/novastars/pseuds/novastars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil works in a small library where a local douchebag keeps moving the books and putting them on the wrong shelves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The douchebag

**Author's Note:**

> Second time writing phanfic! Sorry if it's a little similar to the last one.
> 
> Also I hope i didn't make Phil seem a bit more uptight or sad than he is in real life, it was not my intention and i am so sorry if it's horrible.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! Your feedback is welcome :) x
> 
> UPDATE: thanks to the lovely galaxymichael, this fic is now available in russian on https://ficbook.net/readfic/3687283

A frustrated huff escaped Phils mouth as he forcibly put the snail anatomy book back in its rightful spot. As though the amount of strength he wasted in putting it there would somehow make it stay.  
  
He had been working in the tiny library for 4 years, by now he knew the halls and aisles better than old Maggie herself. The 78 year old woman owned the building, and was slowly becoming deaf. This was something Phil dreaded, as he wasn’t sure he could make his voice go any louder at this point.  
  
Phil loved his job, loved it so much so that he spent most of his week there just helping the old woman out and perhaps finding another well-worn paperback to read.

 It had its downsides, one being that there was a kid who kept using ham as a bookmark, where did he get that ham? Phil had yet to find out. But he always found at least one potent slice delicately placed inside a children’s book. Another man would subtly make his way to the pornography section, all whilst his suspiciously beady eyes darted back to Phil.  
  
But none of that, absolutely none of that, compared to the douchebag who _constantly_ put books back in their improper places.  
  
Sure, the pornography guy certainly freaked Phil out, what with his sweaty brow and wide staring eyes and yes no matter how soon he located the ham in the books it would always have rotted to some degree. But somehow this stranger, this _douchebag_ made Phil’s blood boil more, for reasons he didn’t care to delve into.  
  
This person had kept this annoying game up for 3 months.  
  
Phil had never caught them in the act, leaving him with the somewhat amusing yet irritating thought of a ghost roaming the halls with the sole goal of switching up the order of books. The books were all placed in their precise spot for a reason. Something Maggie had drilled into him upon his first ever day of work was how important the structure of her library was.  
  
 He couldn’t save her ears; he may as well try and save her precious library from being disorganized.  
  
And so, Phil continued stalking the aisles, trying to spot dishevel in the order as he put the snail anatomy book back on its shelf. Absently he thought it was a _very_ strange topic to write about and wondered how exactly one would find out the anatomy of a snail.

The local douchebag certainly had a strange taste in the books they moved, somehow Phil doubted that it was a random move of a random book. Strangely feeling that there was a certain procedure the douchebag went through when they happened to disorganise the entire library.  
  
  
1\. The Douchebag knew Phil’s schedule well, as he knew for a fact that no books were moved during Kelsey’s shifts. Phil was slightly miffed at the idea of this stranger knowing, what felt like, his every movement.  
  
2\. The douchebag normally waits for Phil to go on his lunch break, as he never catches the person in the act.  
  
3\. He only ever chose the weird books. Only ever the ones about weird animals, places, conspiracies or some that Phil was starting to think, just simply sounded funny.

Reason number 4 was lost to him, as he really did not know why this douchebag would keep doing it for so long, especially when Phil tries so hard not to retaliate and give him the reaction he wants.  
  
Thankfully he was pulled out of his reverie by a tiny woman, who had a lot of questions for somebody so small. Phil smiled and politely served her, trying hard not to marvel at her tininess and lead her straight to the non-fiction section. He watched her walk away, shaking himself out of his wide eyes because really he should not be seen staring at her like she was some kind of hybrid of ant and human – only unusually short.

He busied himself quickly, casting the douchebag out of his mind and instead helping more of the avid customers borrow their books.  
  
 It was only Phil behind the counter today, Kelsey going home on his suggestion when he saw how slow business was sure to be today. Sometimes he wished she would not be so easily swayed, maybe insist to stay just to keep him company while they worked.  
  
He loved working in the library, yet no matter how many stories he read, the fictional characters voices could not drown out the loneliness that engulfed him so during his time there.  
  
The small building was old, the musty smell of books filled its halls and even now in the dawn of autumn, it was comfortingly warm. Yet fewer and fewer people were coming there every week, instead choosing to go to the newer and bigger library in the city’s centre. Maggie was woefully unaware of this and Phil was unwilling to tell her that her business would not last the winter.  
  
He couldn’t save her eyes; he may as well try and save her feelings.  
  
So he continued to work in the dying library, forcefully ignoring the painfully loud echo his own voice made when he spoke in the ever emptying building.

Sighing, he absently flicked through the pages of the most recently returned book, thinking that perhaps he should venture into a different realm of work, one with more people, when he noticed it. A book was jutting out of its place on a shelf, a book that was certainly not there before and not one that the woman could have put there on account of her minimal height.  
  
Grumbling unintelligibly, he plodded right on over there. The hopeful thinking-optimist part of Phil hoped it was simply a mistake, an accident on account of his terrible clumsiness.  
  
His eyes told him otherwise.

The book was clearly an outsider in the aisle, a non-fiction in the land of fiction, as it were. His lips twitched into an almost smile at the sight of the title, all hope that it wasn’t the douchebag vanished as his eyes took on the times new roman font.  
  
**"Dwarfism; Everything You Need Know about the Disorder"** **  
**

 

The douchebag was here.

 

Phils gaze flickered around the library, trying to gauge the person and give them punishment for their crimes.

* * *

  
(Their punishment was simply a short ban from the library)

* * *

  
(Phil was not unaware of how anti-climactic that penance was sure to be)

* * *

 

He hastily put the book back with as much discretion as his clumsy body had to offer. Oddly fearing what the tiny woman would say if she saw him holding such a book.

The library was not big enough for the douchebag to evade him for long, yet somehow Phil could not find them. This was already frustrating enough, without having to find more books on dwarfism jutting out on every other shelf he walked past.

He was starting to think that this person had a disgustingly twisted sense of humour when he bumped into the small lady. After looking at all those damnable books, he just had time to realize that she was not a dwarf - just extremely short - before apologizing profusely.

The woman looked extremely annoyed at being near knocked over, scowling at him with a severe curl of her upper lip. He apologized again for good measure, voice going an octave higher as a flush crept up his neck at the feel of her angry glare on him.  
  
His cheeks were aflame with embarrassment when he heard it - a snort coming from the aisle behind him. Wind whistled in his ears as he spun around, eyes immediately spying the tall man who was grinning impishly at him.  
  
Brown hair  
  
Dimples  
  
Cheeky-what-are-you-going-to-do? Grin.

This man was _the douchebag._

Phil narrowed his eyes at him, already noticing the last book on dwarfs the library had in his hands. The douchebag fiddled purposely with the books cover, his eyes alight with a cheeky shine that somehow made Phil’s cheeks redden once more.  
  
“Excuse me _young man_ , stop staring at that boy and help pick up my books” the little lady’s harsh voice broke through the silence. His eyes flickered towards the douchebag once more before scrambling to the floor to gather up the hardback books.  
  
By the time he had finally got them all in his arms, he turned to see the douchebag walking out the door – casually leaving the book on a small coffee table that marked the exit.  
  
Phils stomach was thick with frustration, he ignored the other inscrutable emotion that clouded him as he slammed the book back with more force than necessary.

* * *

 

Thankfully he didn’t have to wait long for the douchebag to show up again. The next day after the _small lady incident_ , Phil started his shift. Turning on the dusty computer (Maggie still didn’t know how to do that) making a cup of coffee to warm his body into awake-ness and when looking up, the first thing he saw was the douchebag – idly walking the aisles.  
  
_Looking for his next victim_ Phil thought bitterly.  
  
Phil narrowed his eyes, watching as he slowly reached out and grabbed a thin book from the shelf. Shaking his head, he decided he would at least finish his coffee before gallivanting off after the guy. It seemed he would be here all day.  
  
He finished the hot beverage, clacking his tongue against the roof of his mouth to get rid of the slight bitterness that stained his tastebuds, and let his eyes range over the library. Thinking logically, now that he knew what the douchebag looked like – surely he should now be able to spot him amongst the tall shelves. Yet apparently, Phils eyes didn’t want to be logical, because he could still see neither hide nor hair of him.  
  
Sighing heavily, he followed the trail of books that the douchebag had left him, like last time the books had a running theme; coffee.  
  
Phil couldn’t help but be amazed at the amount of books the library even _had_ on coffee. He marvelled at the fact that the pile in his arms threatened to topple over, as he struggled to grab the last one from its wrongful place on the biographies shelf.   

He could feel the douchebags eyes one him, feel them like a physical force as he waddled about the tiny library. Awkwardly, he set about the task of placing the books back in their proper place while another wobbly hand kept hold of the huge pile in his arms.

“What are you doing?” a voice as rough as sandpaper croaked out, Phil glanced down to see Maggie squinting at him in amazement, cloudy eyes flickering down the pile of books in his arms and a furrow developing in her already furrowed and wrinkled brow.  
  
His laugh was airy and uncertain, not sure what he should say to the old woman who gave him a job.  
 “Oh just putting these books back, some kid put them back in the wrong place” he explained breathlessly, somehow knowing with a certainty that the douchebag was in hearing vicinity.  
  
Old Maggie’s laugh was rocks crashing against one another, evidence that she did smoke no matter what she told Phil, and smiled.  
“Do you know who the trouble maker is?”  
Phil could feel 2 pairs of eyes on him as the next few words escaped his mouth, one chocolate brown and the other murky blue.  
 “No I don’t know who they are yet”  
Old Maggie nodded with a frustrated huff, telling him that she’ll keep an eye out for the ‘kid’ before hobbling off back to her office.  
  
He didn’t know why he protected the douchebag. He couldn’t make sense of why he decided to keep his douchebaggery a secret – his mind seemed to have lost control of his lips.

Phil stood there, lost in speculation of why he didn’t report the man. Absolutely flabbergasted as to why his mouth would betray him like that - ignoring the wobbles that shook his arms under the strain of holding the books and trying to make sense of it all.  
  
His thoughts clouded his mind so much so that he didn’t sense the presence of the douchebag, who brushed passed his shoulder softly. A smirk that almost _dripped_ cheekiness was flashed at Phil, brown eyes crinkling as he whispered  
“Thanks man”

He grumbled in frustration, the douchebag slipping back into another aisle and leaving Phil with the lingering feel of his touch on his shoulder.

* * *

 

It had been 3 days since Phil heard the douchebag speak and he still hadn’t told Maggie that he knew who was moving the books. So far the douchebag seemed to enjoy moving books in theme with things Phil did, like the time all books on _plants_ were relocated because he had recently added a pot plant to the library to brighten the room up a bit.  
  
Then came the movement of books on food. Because that day Phil had not eaten any breakfast or lunch, and when a particular dense silence enveloped the library his stomach had grumbled and roared so loudly he attracted stares for an hour.  
  
The last amount of books happened to be on hairdressing, because Phil had gotten a haircut and was about to inform Kelsey about it when he noticed the first _haircuts of the 60s_ jutting out on the shelf nearest to him.  
  
That had felt a little bit too intimate for Phil, who thoughtnobody would notice the new shortness without him pointing it out.

* * *

 

  
A few weeks went by with varying themes on things Phil did or said; some focusing on embarrassingly familiar details like the time he got new glasses or the new cologne he had worn for the first time.  
  
These incidents weren’t done routinely and were spaced out enough that Phil took no more notice of the casual display of familiarity than he would for any other customer who complimented his musk.  
  
Today the douchebag had yet to decide what type of books he would be moving, Phil watched him with slightly narrowed eyes – yet remained silent when Maggie asked him if anything was wrong.  
  
Phil sighed quietly, eyes flickering away from the douchebag, who had his long legs casually thrown about on lounge chair, lips pursing as they sipped at a Starbucks coffee.

Autumn was fresh in the air today, the peak of November dawning upon them and bringing with it its blustery winds and multi coloured leaves that he loved and hated in equal amounts.  
  
Phil was in the Christmas cheer today, already feeling sorely tempted to put up the dusty and moth eaten decorations left over from Maggie’s childhood.

Business was sluggish today, slower than usual yet Phil couldn’t muster up the energy to feel dampened by this. After all, the big library in the city had been stealing their customers for so long now it wasn’t uncommon for Phil to spend his day dwelling on the looming fate of Maggie’s tiny library. So Phil decided to decorate his small space behind the counter, already knowing that he’ll put up the bigger decorations when December finally arrived.

He was sprinkled with dust by the time he found the smaller decorations in the storeroom. His hands were quick in brushing away the dust in his hair lest it be said that he had dandruff, or even worse – if the douchebag decided to pick out all the books on dandruff. Phil wasn’t even sure the library had books on hair sanitation, but he was certain that he did _not_ want to find out.

Phil ignored the douchebags eyes on him, focusing on putting the faded tinsel around the counter. His eyes narrowed slightly while hanging up the clay Santa figurine, it never failed to freak Phil out what with its demon eyes and buttery smile.  
  
Phil finished the decorations in relatively quick time, only pausing every so often to help out the customers. He topped the decorations off by putting a decaying star clumsily on top of his pot plant.    
  
It was no surprise when Phil found out the theme of today’s book movement; _Christmas. W_ hat did surprise Phil were how many volumes the library had on the topic. His hands habitually pulled the books from the shelf and slipping them on top of the other in his arms.

It soured his festive mood slightly when the pile of books in his arms grew over his head.

Phil hummed an intelligible tune to himself, somehow unable to be too annoyed at the douchebag for sharing his Christmas cheer. A shadow stepped passed him and too late Phil realized it was the douchebag, quietly singing _“just hear those sleigh bells jinglin”_ and grabbing the book from the top of the pile in Phil’s arms.

The douchebag smiled softly at him, waving the book at him and slipping away into another aisle. Phil laughed partly in frustration but mostly in amusement, following the boy to retrieve the Christmas recipe book lest have it be lost forever.  
  
An hour was dwindled by before Phil finally set the books down and decided to have a coffee break – stopping every so often in the midst of coffee preparation to stop them from toppling over. Taking deep swallows from the drink, he admired how very Christmassy the small space now felt when he noticed that the douchebag was staring at him. He seemed to be lost in thought, eyes glazed over yet still focused on Phil. He blushed slightly and tried to bring his attention back to the plant.

 

It was times like this that he often wondered why exactly the douchebag decided to spend all his time here messing up the library.  
  
The coffee suddenly lost its sweetness.

He placed the unfinished beverage on the counter dully – his Christmas cheer having quickly seeped out of him as he hoisted the stack of books back up. Phil could feel the douchebags confused look when he walked passed him with barely any emotion showing on his face.

The books grew heavier and heavier with every step he took down ever aisle, surveying the shelves for any Christmas books he may have missed. The sounds of his footsteps were a light echo throughout the ever emptying building.

He could sense the douchebags presence behind him, but it felt too familiar – too close and intimate for him to feel when he had barely said one sentence to the boy.  
  
Discomfort fumbled in his stomach as he started to turn to look at the face that was so familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. Were they friends? Were they enemies? His stomach dropped at the prospect of either one of them. Yet he ignored the feeling that dawned within him when the douchebags mouth split into a wide grin upon looking at Phil.  
  
He was just about to say something, to perhaps ask this man _why_ he was here as often as Phil was, when a body slammed into his. He just had time to realize the sound of a gravelly voice yelling out in alarm before it all happened. Books and what looked like coffee alike went flying in the air. Phil watched in slow motion as both landed on the ground with a series of loud bangs, the coffee cup losing a handle and its contents spreading through the mess of books on the floor like blood might stain a murder scene.  
  
“PHIL!” Maggie appeared to be on the ground as well, hurt and anger clouding her already foggy eyes as she stared at him.  
  
And what did he do? Phil stood there, absolutely dumbfounded at what had just unfolded.  
  
“Don’t just stand there! Help me get up you idiot!” if he thought her voice was rough as sandpaper before, it was nothing compared to the sword on stone sound of her anger as she directed it all on him.  
  
He probably should have mentioned that Old Maggie had quite a temper. And by quite a temper, Phil meant that he was at least 80% sure that she had killed somebody in the past.  
  
Ignoring the protest his jeans gave at the strain of bending low, Phil scrambled to the ground and helped Maggie stand up.  
  
 His body was a fuzzy blur as he tried to scoop up the coffee with his bare hands. He was rummaging so much to gather up the books that he didn’t realize how large of an audience he had required.  
  
Maggie was grumbling, people strummed the books in their hands and muttered ominously and Phil was as red as a pomegranate.    
  
The little ham boy laughed at him, the porn guy smirked before slipping away back to his explicit section and Phil was completely and utterly _mortified.  
  
_ “I’m s-sorry”  
Since when had his voice been so high? Were those his hands, which fumbled so much so with the books and coffee on the floor?  
  
He was absolutely sodden with humiliation, somehow still aware that Maggie was lecturing him on clumsiness and watching where he was going. Yet he sat there and looked at her blankly. His red cheeks were the only thing that told those watching of his shame.

  “Some of these books are as old as I am, I won’t have you working here if you continue to treat them with such disregard”  
  
Old Maggie threw him another disappointed look before hobbling off.  
  
The crowd took longer to disperse.  
  
The amount of old women who glared at him with mixtures of pity and blame caused his hands to falter in their attempt to clean everything up.  
  
He violently rubbed away the angry tears that blurred his eyes. The thought that he might lose his job making his eyes fill up again.  
  
It was only then that he realized that the douchebag was still there, he crouched down next to Phil and hesitantly placed a delicate hand on his shoulder.  
  
The pity that filled those brown eyes made his heart burn.  
  
“Hey look, I’m sorry that was totally my fault” the douchebags voice was soft and apologetic, yet Phil was still reliving the cringing events that just unfolded.  
 “You think?” Phil glared at the douchebag, the annoyance that filled his heart forcing his voice to shake slightly.  
  
The douchebag let out an awkward laugh, his hand still placed on Phils shoulder.  
“Yeah sorry, next time I won’t move as many books..”  
  
Phil looked at him incredulously.  
  
He brushed the guys hand off of him and glared.  
“ _Next time?!”_  
The douchebags face fell into confusion, his smile lessened until it filled his expression with uncertainty.  
 “Yeah of course, _next time_ I won’t make you hold so many books”  
  
Phil narrowed his eyes, anger clouded his being so much so that he had little control over what his mouth let him say.  
“There won’t _be_ a next time, don’t you get it?”  
  
The douchebag wasn’t smiling anymore. A furrow appeared in his brow and his dimple appeared just as he pressed his lips together.  
 “Is it getting boring?”  
  
Phil glared at him  
“This isn’t just some little game we’re playing, I never even liked this stupid thing you’re doing. You’re _ruining_ my work”  
 “Oh” the douchebag stared blankly at Phil, his cheeks reddened ever so slightly before continuing “do you want me to stop?”  
  
The hurt that shadowed his face was almost enough to soften Phil, but he found he had no choice but to continue.  
“Yes, please just _go”_  
“Alright, I’ll just – I’ll just leave you to it then”  
  
The douchebag moved as though he were in a dream, throwing Phil one last look so wounded that it made Phils heart sink with guilt.  
  
Phil finished cleaning everything up, apologized to Old Maggie – who immediately retracted her harsh statements – and Phil blankly sat himself behind the counter for the rest of the day.

* * *

  
  
The douchebag hadn’t been seen in the library for days, this surprised Phil because he was sure he would see him immediately the next day.  
  
_Good riddance_ Phil thought to himself. Yet he found that his shifts seemed so much longer now without the douchebag there to fill the hours.  


* * *

  
It had been approximately 11 days since the douchebag disappeared from the library.  
  
Since when had the library been so _dull_? And were the days always this long?  
  
Phil drank more coffee than he did before, just to feel some comfort that he now needed for some reason he didn’t care to explain.  


* * *

  
2 weeks. 2 weeks and Phil was so much lonelier than he was before, he hadn’t realized how much time he spent with the douchebag.  


* * *

  
Maggie asked him why he was so sad lately; Phil didn’t know how to tell her that he missed chasing some dickhead around the library.  


* * *

  
November was over and Phil seemed to have misplaced his Christmas cheer. He found it hard to look at the decorations and think of anything else but the smile the douchebag gave him as he snuck another Christmas book away from him.  
  
His smile was brighter than any fairy lights he’d seen thus far.  


* * *

  
  
The ham boy had stopped coming to the library, either that or he’d finally emptied his supply of sandwich meat. The porn guy was still there, but now he could be seen talking to a sweet looking girl with eyes as dark as coal. He frequented the porn aisle less often now, and Phil held little interest in him for that.

* * *

  
  
He sat in dull resignation as he realized how very much he missed the douchebag and his dimpled grins.  


* * *

  
It was a couple nights before Christmas eve, and Phil stared at every Christmas type book being borrowed with a forced smile. His eyes roamed over the title blankly as he tried not to think of _him_.  
  
There was a bitter chill in the air that had forced more people into the cosy depths of the library. Maggie had even lit the dusty fireplace which was now littered in rat eaten Christmas stockings.  
  
Kelsey had proudly bought in some Christmas themed cookies that she had made. Phil had hoped so much that she would stay with him during his shift but she left within minutes – claiming that she foresaw snow in the weather for tonight.  
  
Phil dully smiled at the customer before returning his eyes to his hot chocolate, as he was just reaching for a Rudolph biscuit, his elbow bumped against the cup. The hot beverage toppled dangerously, Phil watching it in slow motion as he waited for it to spill all over the table.  
  
 A white hand bolted out and steadied it with a gentle touch.  
  
“Thank you” Phil laughed breezily, taking the hot chocolate from the hand and taking a deep swallow.  His eyes remained on the old computer as he asked the customary question  
“Do you want to borrow or return anything today?”  
  
There was silence for a split second as the customer seemed to take a deep breath, oddly Phil wondered just what they were so nervous about before he heard it.  
  
“I’d like to borrow this please”  
  
The voice.  
  
It was embarrassing how much relief flooded back into him as he looked up at the douchebag.  
  
 “You’re back”  
it was more of a statement than a question, but Phil felt it had to be said.  
  
“Yeah, I er just needed to get a book, you know how it is”  
  
Phil was shocked at just how much uncertainty showed on his face, his shoulders were tense and he continuously kept sucking his lips into his mouth. He felt a fondness warm his belly as he smiled at him.  
  
 “I missed you”  
His words were more quiet and tentative than Phil would have liked, but he watched as first surprise and then delight lit up the douchebags face.  
  
“Really? I thought I was just _ruining your work_ with my _stupid games”_ the smile on his face dampened the harshness of his accusations.  
  
The warmness in his tummy heightened when Phil thought that maybe, just maybe, he had been forgiven.  
  
 “Yeah, the library is actually pretty boring when you’re alone, if you ask me” Phil tried to put nonchalance into his voice, lest come off as creepy. But the douchebags smile evolved into a full dimple-denting grin and Phil found his beam was catching.

Old Maggie waddled out from behind her office door and stopped in her tracks, her murky eyes taking in a grinning Phil and flickering between the boys with an alarming speed.  
  
Fortunately she didn’t say anything, she just smiled and as she passed by Phil she patted his shoulder fondly.

* * *

  
  
Phil felt all of 5 years old as he continued to smile and talk to the douchebag, who would seem missed Phil just as much as Phil missed him.  
  
They were just beginning to discuss serious Christmas things like how both of them had procrastinated in their gift shopping, when Phil realized something important.  
  
“I don’t even know you’re name”  
  
The douchebag laughed at that, cheeks reddening as he admitted  
 “I know yours, I er heard that girl you work with say it when I first came in here” he paused and looked at him with eyes shiny with guilt and glee “Phil”  
  
He should have disapproved at just how much he liked the sound of his name coming out of the douchebags lips.  
  
“That’s better than me! I was just calling you “the douche bag” in my head” he felt his ears redden as the douchebag doubled over laughing.  
  
 “My name’s Dan, but I think I like your nickname for me better” Dan teased easily – his cheeky smile making Phil feel less humiliated in a heartbeat.  
  
Dan was a good name, and perhaps added another layer of familiarity between the two that hadn’t been there before.  
  
 Phil found that he didn’t mind the intimacy so much anymore.

* * *

  
The pair talked long into the night, only pausing every so often for Phil to borrow or return a book for a slightly confused customer. Their eyes always darted between them with a small smile, before taking their books and leaving Dan and Phil to their conversation.  
  
Phil was shocked at just how fast time had gone by when Dan opened his mouth to say something. Just like earlier a certain tension seemed to fill him as a furrow appeared in his brow.  
“You didn’t even see what book I wanted to borrow”  
  
Phil laughed easily  
 “I guess you’ve moved so many I don’t even notice the titles anymore”  
  
Dan smiled uncertainly and waited as Phil glanced down at the book in his hands.  
  
Phil read the title out loud  
  
_“Guess how much I love you_ by Sam McBratney”  
  
He looked up at Dan up confusion, who smiled impishly.  
  
 “This much”  
  
A bang echoed throughout the library, Dan knocking his knee against the counter as he leaned into Phils lips at such an awkward angle with the counter and books in between them.  
  
The kiss was chaste yet it filled Phil with a fuzzy happiness that completely eradicated those days spent alone in the library.  
  
The two were absolutely glowing with delight and oddly Phil found himself going over the douchebags- over Dans – plan once more.

1\. Dan knew Phil’s schedule well, as he only move books during Phils time there. Phil felt with a certain kind of pride that Dan had memorized his shifts just to interact with him more.  
  
2\. Dan normally waits for Phil to go on his lunch break, because he was _so_ much more awkward than he let on.  
  
3\. He only ever chose the weird books. Only ever the ones about weird animals, places, conspiracies or some that Phil was starting to think, just simply sounded funny. (Phil was starting to think that this was because he saw how lonely Phil was most days)

Reason number 4 was still partially unknown to Phil, so he finally asked the question that had been bugging him for longer than he’d care to admit.  
  
“Dan, why did you move all those books in the first place?”  
  
Dan smiled guiltily  
  
 “You looked like you could do with some cheering up”  
  
Phil smiled at that, and pulled him in for another kiss – thinking to himself that maybe this _douchebag_ wasn’t such a douchebag after all.


End file.
